Fischer - Spassky Game 12, 1972 WCH (D66)

"We've got an opponent now. We didn't have one before. It means we'll all be here a little longer - but Fischer will win anyway of course" - Fred Kramer (Fischer's aide)

Psychologically the most interesting choice of opening variation in the whole match appears in this game. Spassky departed from his prior opening repetoire. Some of Fischer's knowledge of the QG must have been based entirely on studying Spassky's games. Possibly Fischer was on his own after this move. However he played according to "book" and showed the position after 18 moves isn't as equal for Black as commonly accepted - Chess World Championship, p. 205

Comments

Nimzo - With the QG, I feel like I can be more creative in the middle game, but I can't explain why I don't like using it. I really like all the Blogs you are doing on the 1972 Match w/ Fischer/Spassky, excellent! It brings me back to that time when It had everyone playing chess, or at least attempting. I agree with lawdoginator.I don't follow the matches today like with that championship.

I played a CC game with Sammy way back in the 1970s, $25 and I had to send him a PC with every move (that's PostCard for all you young whippersnappers out there). He played Black and mopped me up in <30 moves as I recall.

If QG is one of your strongest openings why not play it routinely? I'm starting to play it occasionally as I do have a clue in many QP Openings and am finally getting slightly tired of a steady diet of 1.e4

I followed all the Rounds of this WCM back in 1972. I like the way the game transposed into the QG from the English. I studied the English with Sammy Reshevsky in the 1980s and prefer to play it. And, even though the QG is one of my strongest openings, I rarely use it.

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